Sacramento, CA

Lately, the city has been exerting extensive effort towards rennovating these historic areas of Downtown with mixed results. I have noticed that when they fail it is usually because of lack of community involvement and awareness. They try to keep the people in the dark and then everything ends up being one giant f**k up. Thankfully, they seem to have taken a much different approach to rennovating one of the most historic areas of Downtown Sacramento.

One of the things that Sacramento is most known for is its history as a railroad town. In particular, it is the birthplace of the Central Pacific Railroad’s contributions to the Transcontinental Railroad. For years, the area surrounding the downtown railyards has fallen into disuse and succumbed to the same sort of degeneration that sadly so often happens in big cities. However, it was recently decided to extend the city’s efforts to clean up the downtown area to include the railyard. Furthermore, plans for reviatlization include the addition of a main thoroughfare for shops and boutiques which will bring business to the area and hopefully keep it clean for years to come.

The best part though is that the developer, Thomas Enterprises, is letting the community become a part of the project in a way that is creative and fun. They are holding a contest to name the streets that will run through the area. They will be looking for names that “represent the character of the Sacramento region and reflect our historic past” while also creating “a fresh, contemporary feel” to fully embody what Sacramento has become–a place of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Of course, some people will be upset because there is no monetary prize for “winning.” However, I think that you get something much better from entering the contest–a chance to be a part of living history. You get to truly be a part of Sacramento itself and I don’t think anyone could argue for a better gift than that!

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